Murder at Granite Falls by Roxanne Rustand Read Free Book Online

saw you studying the raft. What’s going on?”
    Surprised at the change of topic, he looked over his shoulder. “Damage. Tina and Penny don’t remember hitting any sharp boulders on the river during the evening float trip yesterday. They couldn’t have reached the landing site downriver unless it happened during the last few minutes anyway. And when they hauled the raft back here, it was still fully inflated.”
    “So it happened here. On the shore.”
    “Vandalism.”
    She moved closer to the raft and bent down to inspect it. She reached out to touch the damaged area and her hand brushed against his.
    She jerked her hand back as if she’d touched fire, a flash of confusion crossing her face, and he knew she’d felt it, too—an electric sensation that had shot up his arm and landed somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.
    “Um…” She blinked. “A knife, maybe?”
    “That’s my guess.”
    Frowning, she straightened and shaded her eyes with herhand as she studied the boys along the riverbank. “Think it was any of those kids?”
    “The four here now all come from the Sundown Trailer Court—and that’s not the trailer park with the fancy security fences and beautiful landscaping. Sundown is shabby, with beer bottles and trash thrown around. It doesn’t sound like the boys get much parenting, so they’re probably just glad to have a free place to hang out.”
    “Still…”
    “Nope. They hang around quite a bit, and they’re all good kids. Now, anyways,” he added with a grin. “We had to discuss manners a few times early on.”
    Carrie bit her lower lip, her eyes troubled. “If not them, then who? Why would anyone want to cause you trouble?”
    “Believe me, this wasn’t the first time something happened here during the past year. And it probably won’t be the last.”
    She appeared to be oddly relieved at the news. “I thought the prowler on Monday night was stalking me, but maybe not.”
    “Stalking you?”
    “I know, it probably sounds silly. But my ex-husband, Billy, wasn’t all that happy about our divorce, even though he initiated it. I get threatening calls from him now and then.”
    Logan frowned. “Worrying about something like that doesn’t sound silly at all.”
    “But he couldn’t know where I am right now.” She flipped a hand dismissively. “I made sure of that when I left my brother’s ranch.”
    “Still…”
    “So, do you think that prowler was the one who damaged your raft?”
    “Nope.” He ran a hand over the damaged surface. “We would’ve noticed yesterday when we tried to put it on the river. But it was fine.”

    “What if he was just scoping things out, and came back last night?”
    “Maybe.”
    She pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her khaki slacks and offered it to him. “You should call the sheriff’s department.”
    He sighed, thinking of the other suspicious events on the rafting company property and his cabin over the past twelve months. “I don’t think so.”
    “Why not? You’ll need a police report to file an insurance claim, right?”
    He laughed at that. “I took photos, but my insurance company has become a little testy when I call.”
    “But that’s their job. Answering your calls. Taking care of your claims.”
    “Within reason.”
    “Well, if I were you—” Her eyes widened with sudden understanding. “This isn’t the first time you’ve had trouble.”
    “No, ma’am.”
    “But…why?” Her gaze swept the dense forest of pines crowding in on three sides of the clearing. “And why doesn’t the sheriff’s department help?”
    He thought about all the ways they’d failed to properly investigate. The morning after someone shot out a window in his cabin. Or the day he’d found his tires slashed. Or the other, more subtle events that illustrated exactly what local opinion was regarding his character.
    Given the offhand attitude and smirk on the face of the deputy who’d responded to his calls, any amount of trouble at